Candied citrus 101

Can I tease you just a little bit? check this out

Yum huh?

Well how to get from raw orange to candied to dipped in chocolate is actually quite easy...

Step 1. Cut the oranges in slices about half inch thick (pretty obvious right?)

Step 2. Put the oranges in a pot and cover them with water. Cover the pot and turn the heat on. Bring the oranges to a boil and turn the heat off. Dump the water and change for new water, repeat the process 4 times total.

Do not put the oranges in boiling water, always start with cold water, bring to a boil then turn the heat off. Yes? cool!

Step 3. Make a syrup. Now there's a lot of proportions out there. The idea though is that you get to the saturation point of sugar in water, that is, when water cannot disolve any more sugar. About 2 cups of sugar for every cup of water. Bring the mixture to a boil and add the oranges. Simmer for about 45 minutes, until the oranges become translucent. There's no overcooking here so don't freak out. Just make sure the heat is in low, you don't want the sugar to turn into caramel or burn.

Now your oranges are candied, you just need to let them dry out. You can first place them on a plate so they let go of the extra syrup. After a couple of hours, when they are not extra sticky, coat them with a bit of sugar, the same way you would bread meat. Now you can place them on a rack and let them dry overnight.

If you're wondering what do you do with the syrup now... well, you can reuse it for several batches... but even better! Think about it, what's the syrup? water, sugar + delicious orange flavor! My recommendation, use it to glaze pound cakes or even better, make wholes in the pound cake and pour the syrup over so that it moistens the entire cake.

Step 4. Melt a cup of chocolate chips, chocolate chunks or bark over a double boiler or in the microwave. Dip your oranges and... voila!

Citrus calling the spring!

Sick of winter? of rain and snow? yeah, me and Maria, from Remena Nena, are sick of it too. That's why we decided to team up and summon spring from both sides of the Atlantic. And what better way than with a refreshing citrus tart.

Not only that! but we've decided to create 'Tarting international', our own monthly recipe challenge. Basically each month, one of us chooses a recipe and we both bake and blog about it. We will be really really happy to welcome other participants so if you're up for it, just let us know! the more, the merrier.

Now going back to the tart... it looks like this...

And let me tell you, it tastes like heaven, soaked in lemon and orange... with candied fruit on top...
I played a little more with the candied fruit and made chocolate dipped candied oranges... so coming soon there'll be a 'Candied fruit 101'.

The recipe for the tart comes adapted from 64 sq ft kitchen and Butter Sugar Flour

For the crust

1 ½ cups plain flour
½ cup icing sugar*
¼ teaspoon salt
1 stick (recipe called for 125 g) of butter, cubed
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon water


 *If you don't have any, grab your regular sugar, the coffee grinder and give it a pulse

In a bowl combine the flour, icing sugar and salt. Add the cubed butter (cold) and work it with your hands until you get tiny pebbles. At first it will look like there's no way the butter is gonna absorb all that flour, but it is, just be patient. Oh and you can use a pastry utensil but I rather use my hands. Once you get the pebbles, add the egg yolk and the tablespoon of water (cold as well). And keep mixing until incorporated. As you mix the dough will come together. Knead it for a bit, I spent about 5 minutes, until it looks smooth and uniform (no orange egg spots). Wrap it in plastic wrap and let it cool in the fridge for 30 min.

Roll the dough and place it in your baking pan. I used a 9 in springform but obviously if you have a tart pan, go for it. Let it rest in the fridge for 30 min.

Preheat your oven to 350 F
Punch holes in the tart with a fork and blind bake (place aluminum foil on top and place some kind of weight, I used black beans)  for 15 min at 350 F or until the edges begin to brown. Don't wait until it's totally brown since you're gonna bake again once you have the filling.

Filling

3 1/2 ounces of butter, diced
7 ounces granulated sugar
1 orange
3 medium lemons
5 eggs

Turn oven to 375 F
Zest a lemon and an orange and set aside. Beat together butter and sugar. Add the zest and combine until smooth. Juice the three lemons and add the juice to the batter. Beat in the eggs one at a time. My batter looked crumbly on top. Bake for 30 to 40 min, until the tart looks set. The center will still be giggly. The top should look slightly caramelized. Let cool completely and then transfer to the fridge.
Serve cold. Before serving, if desired, place candied fruits on top.

The tricks on how to get this beautiful candied fruit, coming up soon!